During the manufacturing of consumer goods, the position of components used in the manufacturing process may affect the overall quality of the goods and the acceptance of the goods by consumers. Consumers often desire consistency in the configuration of purchased goods for both functional and aesthetic reasons. To ensure consistency throughout the manufacturing process, components must be positioned uniformly.
By way of example, many disposable absorbent products such as diapers and feminine hygiene products include a core of absorbent material positioned between a top sheet and a bottom sheet. Variations in the placement of the core within the finished good can result in leakage and reduce the functionality of the product. Even if the placement of the core and other components do not affect the functionality of the product, consumers expect each product to maintain the same look and feel as one another. For example, a winged pantiliner having an off-center or skewed core may create confusion for a consumer as to the best way to place such a pantiliner in her undergarment. Or, for example, the placement of a popular design on a diaper (e.g., a popular children's character, a team logo, and other familiar designs) must be consistently placed, in order to ensure that the design is fully shown (e.g., that a headless character is not shown, a team logo is not missing the name of the team's city, and other inconsistencies).
Based on the foregoing, developing new vision systems that automate a manufacturing process to produce consumer goods can be challenging and difficult.